A slat device of this type usually serves as a screen, typically for the at least partial screening of an opening, such as, for example, a door opening or frame opening or gate opening, etc. or for the screening of an outdoor area, such as, for example, a terrace canopy or a veranda roof, etc. In slat devices of this type, a plurality of slats are usually arranged parallel to one another, wherein these can extend over a defined surface. This surface can assume any position between the vertical and the horizontal and can even be of curved construction.
The slat devices to which this invention relates are provided with a displacement mechanism for displacing the slats between and in a stacking zone, wherein the slats—when these are almost all accommodated herein—are located almost all one against another, and a sliding zone, in which the slats can extend spread over at least a part of the surface.
In patent publications WO 2004/070156 A1, DE 297 03 007 U1, DE 2 356 880 A1 and patent application PCT/IB2014/062013 of the present Applicant, various such slat devices are described.
These slat devices respectively comprise a plurality of slats which are arranged parallel to one another and which at their ends are connected to a trolley provided with guide elements for guiding the trolley in a guide profile during the displacement motion of the corresponding slat between and in the stacking zone and the sliding zone. Typically, the slat is fitted by its shaft in this trolley. In these trolleys, displacement means, such as, for example, a nut for engaging on a rotatable spindle, and/or tilting means, such as, for example, a worm gear transmission for tilting the corresponding slat, can also be fitted.
A drawback of these slat devices is that the guides often impede the displacement of the slats. When the slat devices assume sizeable dimensions and/or when relatively large tolerances exist on the guide profiles and/or the guide elements, and/or when the slats are arranged at an inclination, the guide elements can even get jammed in the guides. This problem can be limited by providing rollers as guide elements on the trolleys, as described, for example, in DE 2 356 880 A1. In this way, compactness is forfeited, however.
The object of this invention is to rectify this problem in a more compact manner.